


Hitting the lights right

by Veronica1986



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Sort Of, but she's only here in a flashback, henry ships them, snow is an idiot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:07:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27649294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veronica1986/pseuds/Veronica1986
Summary: As stubborn as Regina is, she doesn't listen when Emma tells her that after her half-day shift at the station she will help put on the Christmas lights Henry is adamant that need to go up that day.Instead when Emma is walking up the path flicking through the mail, she hears a soft gasp and quickly drops the mail to the snow covered ground and catches Regina in her arms after falling off the ladder.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Comments: 12
Kudos: 113
Collections: Swan Queen Advent Calendar Collection 2





	Hitting the lights right

**Author's Note:**

> I am very excited to be participating in the Swan Queen Advent Calendar for the first time and I hope you like the story I bring you this time.
> 
> Thank you Victoria for being my beta for this fic.

Emma was in the middle of a javelin when her cell phone rang. She watched as the dart made a perfect path to the circle in the center and punched the air. "Yes!" Oh, if Regina saw her doing that she would be so mad. Emma remembered the first time she threw darts. Regina snuck into the police station and watched her fail miserably. Of course she did not miss an opportunity to tease her about her skills. But that was before the curse broke and things were different. Emma fished her cell phone out of her pants pocket and couldn't help but smile when she saw Henry's name. "Hey, kid, what's up?"

"Emma, you haven't forgotten that you have to come by today to hang the Christmas lights, have you? It is very important that it be done today."

"Geez, kid, it's fine." Emma sighed. "I will stop by after my shift to put Christmas lights on for your mom."

"Thank you, Emma."

"You're welcome, kid, now I need to go because Mrs. Bonfamille needs me to rescue her cat. Again."

"See you later, Emma."

The blonde could hear the smile in Henry's voice when he hung up. He was up to something, she could feel it. She just couldn't put her finger on what it was yet.

Since Emma had returned from the Enchanted Forest with MM a few weeks ago and all that mess of Cora trying to frame Regina in order to manipulate her again, they had become closer. 

Things had gotten more complicated than Emma had thought possible when she returned from the Enchanted Forest, as MM was on her neck all the time, insisting on how evil Regina was and that Emma should take Henry and stay away from her and blah blah blah...that had driven the blonde back to her room at the B&B.

After almost ruining everything with that trip to New York in search of Mr. Gold's lost son, Neal, the same Neal who left her to rot in jail, and Henry's father, Emma decided to get away from everyone for a while. MM and David barely gave her a chance to breathe and she understood that they wanted to 'make up for lost time' but they did not help at all by talking badly about Regina all the time. This had yielded some good discussions between them in the past few weeks and for everyone’s sake, Emma decided to leave the loft.

But of course, Regina, being the smart strategist, and observant woman she was, had realized something was wrong and had started asking Emma what was going on. 

_ One afternoon, Emma was at Regina's office in city hall and they were in yet another meeting to discuss the budgets that would be allocated to the police department when the brunette realized that Emma was in the middle of a discussion via text messages and picked up the cell phone from her hand before the blonde could realize what was happening. _

_ "Oh, I see your idiot mother still looks like a broken record." Regina said bitterly as she read the latest messages displayed on the message app's screen. "Is that why you went back to that pigsty?" _

_ "Don't talk about the B&B like that." Emma said seriously. "Granny is a good person and she keeps the place clean and orderly." _

_ "Whatever." Regina rolled her eyes and handed the cell phone back to Emma. "Your idiots parents will never change their minds about me, Miss Swan. You'd better stop wasting your vocabulary with them." _

_ "You keep calling them idiots doesn't help either." _

_ "But that's what they are." Regina sniffed. "They can't see past the thick black and white layer that blinds their common sense. Your mom still thinks I wanted her head on a silver platter because she was prettier than me." Regina raised her eyebrow. _

_ "As if that were possible." Emma grunted under her breath. _

_ "What did you say?" Regina leaned over the table and a wicked smile played on her lips. _

_ "Nothing." Emma grunted and turned her attention to her cell phone.  _

_ "Oh, no, dear." Regina purred. "I want to hear what you said loud and clear." _

_ Emma looked up from her cell phone to look at Regina and that was a mistake. The brunette was standing, leaning on the table and looking at her with a fierce, hungry gleam in her eyes and it sent chills down Emma's spine. She considered for a moment whether to come up with something, but knowing Regina, she had probably heard what Emma said and was just trying to play with her and embarrass her. The blonde then took a deep breath and said, "I said it is not possible for her to be prettier than you." _

_ "And why is that, dear?" _

_ "Because you are breathtaking and a person would have to be blind to think that MM is prettier. And I don't say that just because she is my mother." _

_ Yes, that had been a mistake, Emma thought. She swallowed, when, in the next moment, Regina was standing before her. _

_ "So you think I am breathtaking?" Regina purred, placing her hands on the arms of the chair and effectively trapping Emma there. "Is this something you think of often? And what are you going to do about it, Miss Swan?" _

_ Emma knew this was an even bigger mistake and in the back of her mind a voice screamed that Regina was just doing this; trying to seduce her, to get under her parents’ skin, but another voice, one that desperately tried to prove that Emma was wanted, said that Regina wouldn't risk Henry that way if she didn't feel anything for Emma. _

_ Emma looked up, her eyes locked on Regina's full, inviting lips. "Something I will probably regret." Emma said and leaned forward, brushing her lips against Regina's. She sighed when their lips touched, soft as no man's would ever be. Emma's breath caught in her throat and she broke the kiss as she waited for a reaction from Regina. She could see the brunette was surprised, but she remained speechless. Emma started to back away, already thinking of some stupid excuse for why she had done that, but then Regina's hand wrapped around the back of her neck, pulling Emma back to her, and the brunette press her lips completely against Emma's, her tongue demanding passage. _

Emma’s memory was disturbed when her cell phone rang again. This time a resident complained that some boys were making a lot of noise on the street. Emma sighed and went to answer the calls so she could finish the paperwork and get everything ready for Mulan when she arrived for her shift. The warrior had been a great addition to the police station, and much better at spending time than with David. Emma loved to hear the stories that Mulan had to tell, and she always had sensible advice to offer.

(...)

"Here you are, Mrs. Bonfamille. Berlioz, safe and sound." Emma rubbed her nose on the cat's face before handing it over to the woman and the kitten snuggled into her arms.

"Nonsense, sheriff." The woman smiled gratefully. "I already told you to call me Adelaide."

"Well then, Adelaide." Emma nodded and bent down to pet the other kitten that was between her legs. "I better go. I still have a few calls to answer before my shift ends."

"Oh, sheriff, wait a moment! I almost forgot! I made a pie for you and Henry." Without giving Emma time to reply, Madame Adelaide came in to fetch the pie.

"This is very kind of you." Emma smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, my dear." Madame Adelaide waved and bent down to pick up Toulouse. "Merry Christmas, Sheriff Swan."

"Merry Christmas, Adelaide." Emma walked over to the car and placed the pie in the passenger seat before leaving for the next call.

(...)

"Hey, Mulan." Emma smiled as she entered the police station and saw that she was already there. "The paperwork for my shift is all set. I spoke to Regina, she said that because it is Christmas Eve, we can close the shift at seven o'clock and if someone has an emergency after that, they should call our cell phones."

"That's great!" Mulan smiled. "Ruby invited me to spend Christmas with her and Granny."

"So, you and Ruby, uh." Emma wiggled her eyebrows. She hoped the two would work, as both deserved a happy ending. Emma liked Ruby and Mulan, and she liked how they complemented each other. While Ruby was chaos; Mulan brought peace to the wolf. And they were the only ones who knew what was going on between Regina and her. Despite being Snow's best friend, Ruby vowed not to tell the princess anything. Unlike her mother, the wolf had seen the change in Regina, even though it was still small and happened gradually.

"I like her." Mulan said timidly.

"I know." Emma smiled. "Call me if you need anything."

"Go and enjoy some peaceful moments with your girlfriend. I can take care of myself."

"Regina is not my girlfriend." Emma frowned. "We never actually talked about it. We're just, you know ..."

"Emma, I know you don't like relationships, and I imagine Regina has a thousand reasons not to like it too, but I think you should talk about it."

"I know." Emma sighed. "Henry is getting more and more suspicious and I don't want him to think that we've been lying to him all this time."

"Then talk to her." Mulan smiled softly. "I have seen you together more than once and I can say that Regina is all soft when she is with you. She shines."

"If she hears you say that, she'll rip your heart out." Emma joked, hoping to hide how much Mulan's comment affected her. She knew that what she and Regina had was special, but that little voice in the back of her mind insisted on showing up every day to say that soon she would do something and ruin everything and Regina would leave her, as everyone else in her life eventually did.

"I know things are complicated for you, given the whole story of Regina and her parents, but if you love her—”

"Whoa, nobody ever said anything about love." Emma's eyes widened.

"Emma." Mulan sighed tiredly. "Remember when we met, in the Enchanted Forest?"

"Yes."

"You told me that you and Regina opened the portal together. Her magic couldn't do it alone, but when you touched her arm, her magic worked."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean anything." Emma said, wiggling her fingers nervously.

"Talk to her." Mulan said firmly. "I meant it."

Emma nodded and left the police station without saying anything more. She walked towards the bug and started it, heading to Regina's house.  _ "Love." _ Emma scoffed. "As if a woman like Regina would love someone like me."

When Emma parked in the garage, which was in the backyard of the mansion, she took the pie that Madame Adelaide had made for her and went around to pick up the mail, as Regina had probably forgotten.

The brunette was a nervous wreck in the last week, as Snow and David were insisting that Emma and Henry spend Christmas with them, and invited Neal, because Snow still had hopes that Emma would get back together with him, even after the Thanksgiving fiasco. 

_ Snow had been adamant about spending Thanksgiving as a family, and he didn't like it when Emma showed up with Regina. "What is she doing here?" She whispered, dragging Emma into the small kitchen. _

_ "I already said: you like it or not, she is Henry's mother as much as I am. Dammit, she is more his mother than I am." _

_ "No, she is not." Snow hissed. _

_ "Yes she IS. if you keep insisting on excluding her, I will take Henry and we will go." Emma said defiantly. _

_ Snow stared at her for a few seconds and with an irritated sigh, agreed that Regina could stay. Dinner was a disaster: Snow and David made nasty comments whenever they could, making Henry upset, Regina uncomfortable and Emma pissed. Neal tried to hit on her a few times and Emma kindly told him to leave her alone. She was trying to be civilized for Henry's sake, because in spite of everything, the boy liked his father and wanted to get to know him better; but when Snow made an unobtrusive comment about Emma and Neal going back to being a couple, the blonde lost the little patience she had left. She stood up abruptly, almost dropping the glass of wine in front of her. "I want to be super clear—you may be my parents, but you lost the right to rule my life when you put my luck in a wardrobe and sent me to God knows where!" Emma clapped her hands on the table so hard that Snow even jumped on her seat. _

_ "We did that because of Regina..." Snow whimpered. _

_ "No!" Emma hissed. "You did it because you preferred to believe what Rumple told you. You preferred the easier way instead of finding a third way." Emma blinked quickly, trying to keep the tears from running down her face. "You love to tell me how heroic you and David are, how heroes always find another way, but you didn't think twice about getting rid of me." Before Snow could answer, Emma was already leaving the loft. She slammed the door so hard that for a moment she thought she might knock it off the door. In the next moment Regina and Henry were coming down the stairs quickly to reach her. _

Emma was once again lost in memories as she flipped thoughtlessly through the mail. So much so that she didn't see Regina on the ladder, stubbornly putting on the Christmas lights that Emma had said she would put on.

"Oh, shit." Regina swore when she reached out to put the light on the second floor window and ended up losing her balance.

Emma was walking up the path as she flipped through the mail when she heard a soft gasp, she looked up just in time to see Regina falling off the ladder. She dropped the mail in the snow and ran to catch Regina before she hit the ground. Emma bent her knees slightly and slid to reach the brunette. She took the brunette in her arms and offered her a lopsided grin. "I got you." Emma said softly.

"Thanks." Regina whispered, her eyes locked on Emma's.

"Why didn't you wait for me? I said I would come after my shift to put the lights on." Emma said gently, still holding Regina in her arms.

"I must not have heard." Regina admitted timidly.

"You could have been hurt."

"I'm glad I have my private savior then." Regina joked, trying to dissuade the intensity with which Emma was looking at her. There was something different about her look and Regina was afraid of what it might mean. She knew they were both avoiding the conversation they needed most, but she was stronger than she was. Emma couldn't really love her. Not sweet Emma.

Inside the mansion, in his room, Henry watched the scene with a winning smile. He had realized that there was something going on between his mothers, but he wasn't sure. He noticed the change in their behavior a few weeks ago, just before Thanksgiving. At first Henry had been upset because he thought Emma and Neal would be together again and he would have a real family, as it should be. Snow almost convinced him that this was the best for everyone.  _ But Henry, even though he was a young man, was a strong-minded boy and didn't let people change his mind so quickly. Had it not been for his insistence and stubbornness, that Henry was almost sure it was a hereditary trait, Emma would not have stayed in Storybrooke, the curse would not have broken, they would not have been able to bring MM and Emma back from the Enchanted Forest and countless other things.  _ So when he started to notice how happy Regina was when Emma was around, he started paying more attention to both.

Henry noticed the smiles, the soft looks, the discreet touches when they thought he wasn't seeing, the whispered conversations, Emma sleeping in the mansion, and most of all: how right it all felt.

"Are you going to hold me or are you going to put on the Christmas lights that your son is insisting on?" Regina swallowed, feeling the intensity of Emma's gaze burning on her.

"Tell me again, why can't we put the lights on with magic?"

"I don't use magic for mundane things." Regina huffed.

"But we can make an exception. It's Christmas, after all."

"You are a child." Regina rolled her eyes. She was aware of Emma's arms under her legs and on her back, holding her tightly and sending waves of heat all over her body.

"That's not what you say to me in your bedroom." Emma teased.

"Do you want to shut up? Our son is in his room just above! He can hear you.”

"Make me shut up."

Regina narrowed her eyes at Emma's challenge. It was not uncommon for the blonde to do this, but she usually reserved it for when they were alone in the security of Regina's bedroom, where no one would see them. Where no one would discover their secret. But today there was something different. Not just in Emma's eyes, but as a whole. Regina saw a flicker of insecurity and regret flash in Emma's eyes as the seconds passed and Regina didn't respond to her challenge. That wasn't how she wanted to leave things, so before the blonde could put her on the floor, Regina put an arm around Emma's neck and kissed her gently. "Now be a good girl and put me down." Regina said when she walked away. Whatever was on Emma's mind, they would talk later, when Henry was asleep and they were safely in her room.

Emma nodded and gently lowered Regina to the floor. She could feel her cheeks burning and her heart beating rapidly in her chest with the kiss they had exchanged moments ago. It had been a soft, quick kiss. Little more than a brush of lips, but for Emma it meant the world. Regina showed no affection to anyone except Henry in public and the brunette kissed her in a place where anyone could pass by and see. It had to mean something. Mulan's voice echoed in Emma's mind again and she did her best to ignore it. "So, no to using magic to put up the Christmas lights?"

"I think we can indulge just this once." Regina shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. "Since you have magic, you can help me."

"I don't know how to do it." Emma bit her lip.

"Just follow my lead."

Emma nodded and they both raised their hands and she felt her fingertips tingle before sparks began to form in her hands. It felt good, almost intoxicating, and she was beginning to understand why it was so easy to get attached to magic to do everything.

When the lights were complete they took a step back to enjoy their teamwork. Regina looked at Emma and loved the way the lights flickered and glowed on her smiling face. The blonde was breathtaking, and under the Christmas lights combined with the night, it was one of the most beautiful views that Regina had ever seen.

(...)

"So, are you going to tell me what's on your mind since you got here or will I have to guess?" Regina asked softly. Her fingertips drew invisible patterns on Emma's bare, sweaty back while they were lying on her bed after one of the best sex of her life. Emma was an incredible lover. Probably the most incredible lover Regina had ever had, but she was also more than that, and it terrified her.  _ Love is weakness.  _ That was her mother’s motto, stuck in her head like a broken record player. It held Regina back. 

Regina licked her lips while waiting for Emma's answer. She tried to push back her mother's motto with her father’s; he didn't think love was weakness, just the opposite, it made you stronger. 

_ 'I don't know how to love very well.' _ Regina remembered the day she had admitted it to Henry. 

If it weren’t for Henry, none of this would have happened. She wouldn’t have met Emma. She would have never detected loving emotions from Emma towards her. And Emma invoked in her to love her the same way she loved him: fiercely, intensely, and giving them her loyalty. 

Another, more recent event, invaded her mind before Regina could stop: she and Daniel in the Storybrooke stables the day Whale brought him back after the curse broke, but it was not Daniel, it was an unholy shell of the man she onced loved. He was a monster, and nearly killed her and Henry. But Daniel had a moment of clarity, where he recognized Regina and begged her to end his suffering, and when she said that without him she was lost and that she loved him, Daniel said "Then, love again." And before he could attack her again, Regina stopped him and ended his pain, but hers was stronger than ever. It was devastating to lose Daniel twice. 

She wasn't going to tell Emma about what had happened, but Henry brought it up in conversation. Henry quickly regretted mentioning it, because she started to sob. It was an awkward moment, but Emma wasn't put off by it. She responded in the most unexpected yet sweetest way; she came up to her and hugged her. And at Emma's touch Regina started to cry even more. It was completely embarrassing, but Emma held her tight and Regina's walls came down little by little as Emma made soothing circles on her back and held her until the crying stopped. Emma patiently listened to Regina's story of Daniel, from her mother killing him to her unsuccessful attempt to bring him back with the help of Victor and Jefferson. Emma didn't judge or question. She just comforted Regina until she fell asleep. That was the first time Emma had spent the night at the mansion.

Regina was pulled from her thoughts when Emma whispered, "It’s just something that Mulan told me this afternoon. And I don’t know what to think."

Regina knew that Mulan and Ruby knew about their secret relationship and although at first Regina was a little apprehensive, since Ruby was Snow White's best friend, the two gained the Queen's trust. "What did she say that made you distant and thoughtful all day, dear?"

"Sorry, I don't-" Emma finally looked at Regina and saw her face streaked with tears. "Why are you crying? Is everything okay? What happened?" The blonde's eyes widened and shone with concern.

"I was thinking about something Daniel said this last time-" Regina said sincerely. She knew that talking about her ex while in bed with her current lover might make one uncomfortable but Emma understood her in a way that no one ever did. Regina felt new tears when Emma touched her face gently. She leaned her head against the blonde’s extremely gentle touch and closed her eyes, feeling Emma wipe her tears. Regina took a deep breath and opened her eyes. It was the first time she noticed that the Christmas lights they put up were shining through the window. That light played in Emma’s eyes and her breath caught in her throat when her eyes met Emma's in the moonlight and the Christmas lights that came in through the window. There was so much vulnerability and understanding in them, but there was also what could only be love. 

"Emma." Regina whispered.

"I love you." They said at the same time and in the next moment their lips collided in an intense, urgent, hungry kiss, full of new meaning and full of promises.

As their bodies tangled once again that night and their moans were muffled behind the wall, Regina felt complete. A promise of happiness spreading through her chest like she hadn't felt in years. As crazy as she could be, Emma loved her and in that moment it was all that mattered. Regina felt her worries, fears, and uncertainties fall away from her mind. She just wanted to enjoy the delicious sensation of Emma Swan’s nakedness against her body in the most electrifying exchange of pleasure that Regina had ever had in her life.

The way Emma looked at her when she said those three words offered Regina the certainty that they could face anything together. she never thought that it would bring her this kind of happy ending; happiness would miraculously be coming from the woman who was predestined to destroy her; ironically, was also the one who would save her.

**Author's Note:**

> That's it guys! 
> 
> Let me know what you think. =) 
> 
> Your kudos and comments are always appreciated. <3


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